According to
IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, the worldwide converged
mobile device (aka smartphone) market reached a new record for
shipments during a single quarter. Vendors shipped a total of 43.3
million units during the third quarter of 2009 (3Q09), up 4.2% from the
41.5
million units shipped in 3Q08, and up 3.2% from shipments of 41.9
million units
in 2Q09.
Top Five Converged Mobile Device Vendors
Nokia
maintained its position as the overall leader in the converged mobile device
market. Driving shipments forward were its popular flagship device, the N97,
and an improving enterprise-focused portfolio led by the E71. Nokia also
announced its first Maemo-powered device, the N900, targeting high-end users.
While its worldwide leadership position is clear, Nokia still struggles in
North America.
Research In Motion continued on its upward path with BlackBerry devices available for
first-time users and returning users alike. Although most of its volumes
remained within its home region of North America, the company also posted
significant improvement internationally, with some regions recording triple
digit growth year over year. Research In Motion launched two new devices during
the quarter; the BlackBerry Tour for CDMA networks and the BlackBerry Curve
8520 for GSM networks.
Apple
reached its highest volume yet in a single quarter. The nearly global
availability of the iPhone 3G S sparked another round of annual replacements
for Apple loyalists, while the lower price on the iPhone 3G put the device well
within reach of customers wary of the price. Although the iPhone has struggled
within emerging markets, its arrival at China Unicom this year could foreshadow
greater shipment volumes.
HTC
finished the quarter in fourth place (with
HTC shipment data excluding phones sold under another company's brand). HTC remains the largest
provider of Windows Mobile-powered devices, with several new devices shipping
the new Windows 6.5 operating system. These include the HD2, Imagio, Tilt2,
Pure, and Touch2. Not to be overlooked is its quickly growing Android-powered
volumes with the Dream, Hero, and Magic.
Samsung returned
to the top five vendors during 3Q09. Although volumes were flat from a year
ago, the company saw marked improvement in Asia/Pacific, Latin America, and
EMEA. The company has been a big supporter of Windows Mobile on its devices,
and features Windows 6.5 on its
Intrepid device. Samsung also plans to launch its Android-powered offering with
the Moment and Behold II.
Top
Five Converged Mobile Device Vendors, Shipments, and Market Share, Q3 2009 (Units in Millions)
|
Vendor |
3Q09 Shipment Volume |
3Q09 Market Share |
3Q08 Shipment Volume |
3Q08 Market Share |
Year-over-Year Growth |
|
Nokia |
16.4 |
37.9% |
15.4 |
37.1% |
6.6% |
|
Research In Motion |
8.2 |
19.0% |
6 |
14.6% |
35.7% |
|
Apple |
7.4 |
17.1% |
6.9 |
16.6% |
7.1% |
|
HTC |
2.4 |
5.6% |
2.1 |
5.1% |
14.7% |
|
Samsung |
1.5 |
3.5% |
1.5 |
3.7% |
0.0% |
|
Others |
7.3 |
16.8% |
9.5 |
22.9% |
-23.5% |
|
Total |
43.3 |
100.0% |
41.5 |
100.0% |
4.2% |
Source:
IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, November 5, 200
"Demand
for converged mobile devices has
remained strong all year," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst
with
IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "These devices provide
more utility and entertainment than traditional mobile phones.
Moreover, users have plenty of devices from which to choose, whether it
be a multimedia powerhouse, a messaging machine, or a social networking
tool. As users expect
greater functionality from their devices beyond telephony, we believe
the
converged mobile device market to grow faster than the overall mobile
phone
market."
"With the release of Android-based handsets from
several different OEMs, most recently Motorola, but also HTC, Samsung LG, and
Sony Ericsson, the buzz surrounding Android OS is reaching critical mass,"
added William Stofega, research manager with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology
and Trends team. "HTC was first to come to market with an Android
device, other vendors took longer to develop their Android portfolio. However,
the release of new Android devices has picked up dramatically over the past
several months and the release of version 2.0 demonstrates that Android is
rapidly evolving and responsive to suggestions from OEMs and developers. With
an expanding portfolio of handsets and a just released update of the code,
Android is poised to mount a serious challenge to the incumbent smartphone OEMs
for the first time in its brief history."